In August it will be so hot I will become a cooking pot
My husband has been craving chicken soup with rice for a while. Me, I've never made a chicken soup and I'm not too comfortable playing with meat most of the time. So I crack open my handy Cook's Illustrated.com, the best web subscription I've ever purchased, and find a good chicken soup with rice recipe.
Results, recipe, photo, post title explanation, and bonus cherry tomatoes I picked today right here:
Oh, it was good. Still is, as it makes enough for a lot of lunches. I made it sort of extra "hearty", as I was making it to my husband's taste. So there is a lot more rice and leeks, and I cut out the dried mushrooms and only added a couple handfuls of regular buttons.
The broth is developed from an Edna Lewis recipe.
Hearty Chicken Soup with Leeks, Wild Rice, and Mushrooms
3/1996
Serves 6 to 8
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 whole chicken (about 4 pounds), breast removed and split, remaining chicken cut into 2-inch pieces
1 medium onion , cut into medium dice
2 quarts boiling water
Table salt
2 bay leaves
1/2 cup wild rice , cooked according to package instructions
1/2 ounce dried shitake mushrooms (or other dried wild mushrooms)
1 large carrot , peeled and sliced 1/4-inch thick
1 medium leek , rinsed, quartered lengthwise, then sliced thin crosswise
1/4 pound domestic mushrooms or wild mushrooms, sliced
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley leaves
Ground black pepper
1. Heat oil in large soup kettle. When oil shimmers and starts to smoke, add chicken breast halves; sauté until brown on both sides, about 5 minutes. Remove and set aside. Add chopped onions to kettle; sauté until colored and softened slightly, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to medium bowl; set aside. Add half of chicken pieces; sauté until no longer pink, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer to bowl with onions. Sauté remaining chicken pieces. Return onions and chicken pieces (excluding breasts) to kettle. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until chicken releases its juices, about 20 minutes. Increase heat to high; add boiling water along with both breast halves, 2 teaspoons salt, and bay leaves. Return to simmer, then cover and barely simmer until chicken breasts are cooked and broth is rich and flavorful, about 20 minutes. Remove 1 cup of broth and pour over dried mushrooms, let rehydrate for 30 minutes.
2. Remove chicken breasts from kettle; set aside. When cool enough to handle, remove skin from breasts, then remove meat from bones and shred into bite-size pieces; discard skin and bone. Strain broth; discard bones. Skim fat from broth, reserving 2 tablespoons. (Broth and meat can be covered and refrigerated up to 2 days.)
3. Return soup kettle to medium-high heat. Add reserved chicken fat. Add carrot and leek; sauté until softened, about 5 minutes. Add fresh mushrooms; continue to sauté vegetables until mushrooms are softened, about 5 minutes longer. Drain and chop dried mushrooms; strain soaking broth through strainer lined with coffee filter to remove grit. Add thyme, along with broth, chicken, strained mushroom soaking liquid, and chopped mushrooms to pot; simmer until vegetables are tender and flavors meld, 10 to 15 minutes. Add wild rice and cook until just tender, about 5 minutes. Adjust seasonings, stir in parsley, and serve.
Naturally, this is what I think of the moment someone says "Chicken Soup With Rice":
Why doesn't every great meal have a song??
And since I just picked these moments ago, here's my day's haul of cherry tomatoes, since they look wonderful. If they survive the day, the fully ripe ones'll go in a salad tonight. But they might not. Hee.
Results, recipe, photo, post title explanation, and bonus cherry tomatoes I picked today right here:
Oh, it was good. Still is, as it makes enough for a lot of lunches. I made it sort of extra "hearty", as I was making it to my husband's taste. So there is a lot more rice and leeks, and I cut out the dried mushrooms and only added a couple handfuls of regular buttons.
The broth is developed from an Edna Lewis recipe.
Hearty Chicken Soup with Leeks, Wild Rice, and Mushrooms
3/1996
Serves 6 to 8
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 whole chicken (about 4 pounds), breast removed and split, remaining chicken cut into 2-inch pieces
1 medium onion , cut into medium dice
2 quarts boiling water
Table salt
2 bay leaves
1/2 cup wild rice , cooked according to package instructions
1/2 ounce dried shitake mushrooms (or other dried wild mushrooms)
1 large carrot , peeled and sliced 1/4-inch thick
1 medium leek , rinsed, quartered lengthwise, then sliced thin crosswise
1/4 pound domestic mushrooms or wild mushrooms, sliced
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley leaves
Ground black pepper
1. Heat oil in large soup kettle. When oil shimmers and starts to smoke, add chicken breast halves; sauté until brown on both sides, about 5 minutes. Remove and set aside. Add chopped onions to kettle; sauté until colored and softened slightly, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to medium bowl; set aside. Add half of chicken pieces; sauté until no longer pink, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer to bowl with onions. Sauté remaining chicken pieces. Return onions and chicken pieces (excluding breasts) to kettle. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until chicken releases its juices, about 20 minutes. Increase heat to high; add boiling water along with both breast halves, 2 teaspoons salt, and bay leaves. Return to simmer, then cover and barely simmer until chicken breasts are cooked and broth is rich and flavorful, about 20 minutes. Remove 1 cup of broth and pour over dried mushrooms, let rehydrate for 30 minutes.
2. Remove chicken breasts from kettle; set aside. When cool enough to handle, remove skin from breasts, then remove meat from bones and shred into bite-size pieces; discard skin and bone. Strain broth; discard bones. Skim fat from broth, reserving 2 tablespoons. (Broth and meat can be covered and refrigerated up to 2 days.)
3. Return soup kettle to medium-high heat. Add reserved chicken fat. Add carrot and leek; sauté until softened, about 5 minutes. Add fresh mushrooms; continue to sauté vegetables until mushrooms are softened, about 5 minutes longer. Drain and chop dried mushrooms; strain soaking broth through strainer lined with coffee filter to remove grit. Add thyme, along with broth, chicken, strained mushroom soaking liquid, and chopped mushrooms to pot; simmer until vegetables are tender and flavors meld, 10 to 15 minutes. Add wild rice and cook until just tender, about 5 minutes. Adjust seasonings, stir in parsley, and serve.
Naturally, this is what I think of the moment someone says "Chicken Soup With Rice":
Click to viewWhy doesn't every great meal have a song??
And since I just picked these moments ago, here's my day's haul of cherry tomatoes, since they look wonderful. If they survive the day, the fully ripe ones'll go in a salad tonight. But they might not. Hee.